Posted by Jane D on June 16, 2001, at 20:28:03
In reply to Re: Medication decision for child » Jane D, posted by SalArmy4me on June 16, 2001, at 19:33:41
> Are you telling people that they should mistrust their doctor and always follow their own usually uninformed whims? Doctors study this stuff, trust them.
Yes. I think that people should follow their own educated judgments about the quality of their care. Judgments - not whims. Doctors study a wide range of problems in a wide range of different patients. I study only what applies to me and, therefore, I can bring a level of focus to it, that they probably can't match. That's natural. And I'm only talking about the good doctors here. The ones who really did pay attention the first time around and who have kept up to date since.>Chances are good that your doctor knows from first-hand clinical experience what works and what doesn't. Parents do not have any first-hand experience with highly psycho-active drugs.
Unfortunately, chances are good that your doctor doesn't know first hand what will work in all given circumstances. He knows, at best, what works some of the time. If he tells you he definately knows how you will react you should find another doctor - he is lying either to you or to himself.
> There is no evidence to suggest that a similar reaction will occur if someone who is related takes the same drug.
There is no evidence I know of that it doesn't. And actually the accounts that the same drugs work well for family members is evidence of a sort.
>All that this person has to "rule out" all mood-stabilizers is a few bad experiences with one. Meanwhile, there are several of them available now, each of which represents a wonderful opportunity for relief, like lamotrigine, gabapentin, and topiramate. There is even a new formulation of Depakote called ER.
And you've just demonstrated one of the problems with relying too completely on doctors or anybody else. You can never be sure they have paid attention to all the important details. In this case it was many bad experiences with several mood stabilizers not one. It's an easy mistake for anyone but the person involved to make.
Jane
poster:Jane D
thread:66340
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010612/msgs/66783.html